Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics, Part I (Recent Issue of Library Trends; 14 Articles)

Library Trends
Volume 73, Number 3, February 2025
Launched on MUSE: May 28, 2025.
All articles are full text, open access.

From the Introduction to the Issue by Melissa A. Wong, Issue Editor:

The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought intense popular and professional attention to generative artificial intelligence (AI). Since then, information professionals in all types of libraries and information settings have wrestled with questions about how this rapidly evolving technology will impact information creation and consumption and, by extension, library services that span reference and instruction to metadata and cataloging and everything in between. Librarians have also grappled with ethical concerns ranging from how to use an information tool with the potential (or even propensity) for producing inaccurate or biased information, to questions of authorship and copyright, to addressing the harmful labor practices and environmental costs associated with AI tools.

This is the first of two issues of Library Trends that examine all these topics and more. Collectively, the authors provide a broad look at the way generative AI is affecting the library and information science (LIS) field, raise important questions about the ethical implications of these tools, and suggest how librarians can be leaders in the thoughtful application (or rejection) of generative AI. Across both issues, the articles collected here provide a blend of original research, thought pieces, and speculation about possible and desirable futures. Some authors embrace the possibilities of generative AI, some take a pragmatic approach to working with the seemingly inevitable, and some argue for a stronger rejection of an AI-infused future. Regardless of their prior knowledge of or stance on the topic, readers will find much to consider in these issues.

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Direct to Articles

• Introduction to Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics, Part I
  Author: Melissa A. Wong
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961188
• Transcending Binaries of Agency through Librarians’ Discursive Constructions of AI
  Authors: Sarah Appedu, Jasmina Tacheva
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961342
• Unpacking Predominant Narratives about Generative AI and Education: A Starting Point for Teaching Critical AI Literacy and Imagining Better Futures
  Author: Andrea Baer
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961189
• Generative AI and Open Access Publishing: A New Economic Paradigm
  Author: Leo S. Lo
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961190
• AI and Open Science: Implications and Library Practice Recommendations
  Author: Nicole Helregel
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961191
• Case Study of AI Application in Scholarly Communication—ScienceON
  Authors: Suhyeon Yoo, ChoongNyoung Seon, Taeseok Lee
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961192
• Using Generative AI for Qualitative Coding
  Authors: David Gustavsen, Holly M. Surbaugh, Mark Emmons
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961193
• AI and Library and Information Science Publishing: A Survey of Journal Editors
  Authors: Allison Hosier, Laureen P. Cantwell-Jurkovic
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961194
• AI on the Shoulders of Giants: Using Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process to Improve AI Support for Information-Seeking
  Authors: Benhur Ravuri, Marcia A. Mardis
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961195
• Toward Generative AI–Driven Metadata Modeling: A Human–Large Language Model Collaborative Approach
  Author: Mayukh Bagchi
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961196
• Generative AI and the Reinforcement of Information Privilege: Implications for Information Literacy Instruction
  Author: Norah Mazel
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961197
• Consensus: Using AI to Analyze Scientific Literature
  Author: Allison Faix
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961198
• Claude AI and Literature Reviews: An Experiment in Utility and Ethical Use
  Authors: Max Sparkman, Alan Witt
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961199
• Use of Generative AI in Aiding Daily Professional Tasks: A Survey of Librarians’ Experiences
  Author: Lili Luo
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961200

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